Seymour Barab (1921–2014)

Our dear friend Seymour Barab has died at the age of ninety-three. Seymour was a composer and cellist. A page at his website describes his life and work in detail.

For many years now Elaine and I have visited Seymour and Margie King Barab in New York every summer. We have spent hours with them, in their apartment and at Seymour’s favorite restaurant, listening and learning and realizing just how fortunate we are to know these wonderful people as our friends. Last summer we watched a performance of Seymour’s No Laughing Matter, a one-act opera for performance by children. How lucky these children were to perform with the composer in the audience. How generous he was in appreciating their effort. Seymour was a man of surpassing intelligence and — much more importantly — surpassing kindness. I miss him with all my heart.


[Seymour Barab and Margie King Barab, waiting at a red light. New York, May 2012. Photograph by Michael Leddy.]

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9:50 p.m.: Elaine shares some memories in this aptly titled post: The Kindest Man in the World.

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July 10: The New York Times has an obituary for Seymour.